Let’s talk about weeds. You know, those things in your garden or lawn that you don’t want there.

If you Google it, you will get a list that someone has decided are weeds. Who has the right to determine which are weeds and which are flowers? Is it like the bunch who, out of the blue, decided that Pluto wasn’t a planet? All through school I was taught about the nine planets. And Pluto was my favorite because it was way out there and little bitty. (I always go for the underdog). Well, I don’t care what they say, Pluto is a planet.

Back to weeds. I was told by a very well-known landscaper that if you pull it up and it comes back, it was a weed.

If it didn’t come back it was a flower. I know of some “weeds” that bloom into beautiful flowers, yet people feel like they must get rid of them. One of which is the dandelion.

Here is a nice little plant that brothers no one and displays a beautiful yellow bloom, yet guys will go to any extent to get rid of it. Some will buy a dandelion digger for forty bucks and find out they wasted their money. Others will buy a $15,000 riding lawn mower to mow that sucker down in their 10 feet by 20 feet yard. And of course, chemicals! Weed control chemicals of all kinds and brands. Sure, poison the whole countryside but get rid of that pesky weed. Poor little thing, everybody picks on it.

A dandelion is much more than a weed or a flower. Remember back when kids would pick them and tie the stems together and make a flowered necklace?

And blowing the puffy tops when they went to seed was exciting. And what about holding the dandelion under your chin and if your chin showed yellow you were in love or you would be rich or something. And of course, there’s dandelion wine.

Also, dandelion tea that was supposed to cure everything. I think the wine might be better. What I’m getting at is, don’t judge who or what is a weed and who or what is a flower.

Don Hill is a resident of Seymour and has served as a volunteer at Southern Indiana Center for the Arts for more than a quarter of a century. Send comments to [email protected].